For me, the first ride on any new rail trail is always exciting. Each trail has its own unique character, history and beauty. Today I was trying out the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT), cycling from Yarraman to Linville.
Yarraman to Blackbutt (20 km)
Derek took this photo of me with Kenji the dog at Yarraman Station Park before I began my ride.
The first few kilometres along the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail were very dry. Tall grass trees were doing well in this environment.
It was a Tuesday, so I was surprised to see quite a few cyclists on the trail.
After eight kilometres, I came to a steep gully at Harland Park. The pylons from the old railway bridge were imposing.
As I continued on, the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail went through two underpasses of the D’Aguilar Highway at Gilla and Nukku.
Looking back to Nukku Bridge
On the D’Aguilar Highway, you can see the site marker for the old Nukku school. Tennis legend Roy Emerson attended this school and there is a museum about him in Blackbutt.
Blackbutt is a pretty town on the D’Aguilar Highway. The star attractions for a cyclist would be the Blackbutt Bakery, the Bunyanut Cafe and the Blackbutt Hotel.
The Blackbutt Hotel is also popular with motor-bike riders.
Blackbutt to Linville (24 km)
After an enjoyable coffee and snack at the Blackbutt Bakery, I continued on the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail to Benarkin, less than five kilometres further along.
Free camping is popular at Benarkin next to the rail trail, with excellent facilities including hot showers.
As if to prove the point, just as I was leaving the town, I came across Alan and Jude, our previous neighbours at Yarraman Caravan Park. Alan, like Derek, was in the habit of wearing his dressing gown around the caravan park, and also had a white dog.
The next section between Benarkin and Linville was my absolute highlight of the whole Brisbane Valley Rail Trail.
As you roll down through the Benarkin State Forest, the piercing sound of the bellbirds is unbelievably loud and beautiful. These bellbirds (also known as bell miners) apparently colonised the Blackbutt Range soon after the railway was extended to Blackbutt in 1910.
Another interesting feature of this part of the trail is the historic culvert. A culvert is a water channel through an embankment. This one, built in 1920 is 27 metres long, 3.7 metres high and 3.7 metres wide.
To see the culvert, you have to park your bike and take a short walk. Unfortunately, as I was cycling solo and a little slower than I had expected, I didn’t make this detour. (Of course I regret that!)
Not far out from Linville, I came to this picturesque corrugated galvanised iron shelter. (See top photo also.) Unfortunately this shed has now been dismantled and replaced by something safer!
Linville
Linville is a small town notable for its beautiful pub and free camping. The station has a few old carriages on the tracks. When I rode in, a group of cyclists was arriving from the opposite direction.
They were regrouping at Linville and getting ready to ride on to Blackbutt.
I had cycled 44 kilometres and climbed 194 metres between Yarraman and Linville.
Although the section between Blackbutt and Linville had been relatively easy, the ride between Yarraman and Blackbutt had been a bit more taxing than I had expected, mainly because of the number of gullies to negotiate.
Here is a short 30-second video of my highlights of the ride:
Summary and recommendations
As mentioned in my last article about the BVRT, the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Guide available online from Organised Grime is a really useful planning tool for this trail.
If you are an intermediate rider like me but you need to do out-and-back rides, the section between Yarraman and Blackbutt is 40 kilometres return and has a good choice of coffee shops/bakeries/pubs at each end. I tried this ride and found it quite manageable.
Another good return ride would be starting at Linville and riding up towards Benarkin (38 km return) or Blackbutt (48 km return) and back. Apart from a few steep gullies, the overall gradient is a manageable 1.5%.
If you would like to do a ride of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail with all the accommodation and logistics sorted, check out this self-guided tour by Tour de Vines.
Two days later I rode the BVRT between Linville and Toogoolwah. If you are travelling in the other direction, you can extend your ride from Yarraman to Nanango (25 kilometres) by using the Nanango Stock Route. Another great trail in the area is the Kilkivan Kingaroy Rail Trail.
